“Cosmic ballet” viewable in Saskatchewan as partial eclipse arrives Saturday

A partial eclipse of the sun is happening this weekend and parts of Saskatchewan should have a pretty good view of it.

Living Sky Guy Tim Yaworski said as the moon orbits around the world it passes between the Earth and the sun from time to time, blocking some of that sunlight.

“Basically we’ve got a cosmic ballet that’s happening where we’ve got the Earth, the moon and the sun coming together in this great little conjunction,” Yaworski said.

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He said they are holding an event at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan on Saturday in collaboration between Meewasin Valley Authority, London Drugs and himself.

“On occasion, like we had in 2017, we’re going to be seeing part of that sun disappear behind the moon.”

He said an eclipse will happen over several hours, noting that you won’t want to be looking up at the sun for that long.

“You do not want to be looking at the sun for hours, especially as it’s being covered because the light becomes more intense. That’s where you can have severe damage to your eyes, or if you’re photographing it, damage to your cameras.”

He said something like eclipse glasses can filter out that light so it doesn’t damage your eyes.

Yaworski said sunglasses don’t cut it, and welder’s goggles might cut out the light, but don’t eliminate the UV rays.

Other tools like projecting the image from binoculars on to a piece of paper, or a solar filter for telescopes or cameras can allow you to view the partial eclipse safely while not damaging your eyes.

Yaworski said the ticketed event at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan will have telescopes with solar filters, as well as eclipse glasses for people to look through.

Global News Meteorologist Peter Quinlan said the moon will move between the Earth and sun starting around 9:20 a.m.

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“It will reach its peak around 10:30 a.m. Saskatchewan time. So that’s when we’re going to see just over 50 per cent of the sun covered,” Quinlan said.

He added that will wane until around 11:50 a.m.

Quinlan said this was a fairly rare phenomenon in this area, noting some eclipses happen while it’s night time in Saskatchewan.

He said it will be partly cloudy in some areas, adding that Saskatoon will see a mix of sun and cloud, but said western sections of the province will see sunnier skies.

“You’ll want to head west of Moose Jaw likely to see that in the Regina area.”